It's the most wonderful time of year at work -- for me. The annual employee art show - it is one of the most amazing things about where I work.
My current job has no relationship to creating art, though I've done my best to insert opportunities where I can -- I design needed brochures, build web sites and volunteer to sit in meetings regarding office re-design. I plan nearly all year for the three pieces I'm allowed submit in this coveted show -- my only real opportunity to validate time spent as an artist.
It amazes me though how I always seem to run out of time. This year I was only able to produce one acrylic, (a rather tortured process for me as this is only the second painting I've done). I usually submit pastels or photographs, and this year -- though I made a promise not to submit photos again, I resorted to two more photos - time ever fleeting.
But here is the misconception I have -- I think of photography as my "quick fix" to create... when I have just a few moments between the demands of being a parent, and employee a daughter. And then I pour over hundreds of quickly snapped pictures and find myself spending considerable time trying to narrow the field down to a workable group -- and then I start the process of tweaking certain ones -- perhaps those with a better composition but not the correct exposure -- and hours go by.
I did "sell" my first two photographs recently - through a fundraiser for Food Gatherers. I donated pictures that were a direct outcome of participating in past years employee art shows . So a fitting end to what sometimes I think may be wasted hours -- at least a bit was converted into a good cause and hopefully a hot meal for a few.
Given that I did win a best in category a few years back for pastels -- I should probably stick to the medium, but strangely enough -- after winning that award I have not done another pastel. I think I am seeking validation in other mediums as the piece that did win a ribbon was something I had done on the fly -- in 30 minutes or less... it just didn't seem worthy of winning anything as it hardly represented any investment on my part.
But on the flip side, a lot of time invested does not guarantee good art. I spent nearly two weeks on an assemblage based on a question I recall in 2nd grade;
"Do you think you will see a woman in the White House within your lifetime?"
In trying to convey this notion -- of which I used Clinton's recently failed bid for the Democratic nomination as a vehicle to carry this concept, I was frustrated at the misunderstanding and puzzled looks when showing the piece to a select few. ("It looks like a school kids diorama", "It doesn't really hang together without a written explanation; maybe you should just write about this subject instead..." "Are you trivializing Clinton?" "Are you in mourning that she lost?" "Are you a Republican or a Democrat?") I ended up ditching it as an entry into the show. (BTW, it was about female roles of power in America and what they are, where they are at, where they have been -- replete with scratched and chipped glass ceiling -- but even by having to explain this - I know it fails as a piece of art.)
Well, my three selected pieces were submitted last week after spending days going back and forth on the naming process, (is "untitled" a name?!) -- now I just have to wait two more weeks to see the show... always a humbling experience. I remember last year thinking - "Wow, now I see what separates a 'good' photograph from a 'great' one", mine of course not being of the later. (Hence my earlier decision not to take the "shortcut" of creating art by submitting photographs!) All in all, photography takes time -- not sure I have enough of it to produce competent photographs, heck I'm still trying to learn how to operate my relatively new digital SLR. But I always have until next year's employee art show - a whole year!
